Cyclone, imho forget the mixer and learn to knead by hand in order to get the feel of dough. Per my advice earlier, you can manually knead 6 C of flour easily and I do it every week in making my 6C loaf of bread as I have for 10 years. In other words, try saving yourself some $$'s. And since you are a beginner at this task, it's too soon to get a mixer; wait until you manually learn the feel of dough.

tj, one of your last posts did not mention any sort of cold rise fermentation. It sounded like you went from ingredients to ready to bake dough in less than 2 hours. Did I read that right or misunderstand?

tj, one of your last posts did not mention any sort of cold rise fermentation. It sounded like you went from ingredients to ready to bake dough in less than 2 hours. Did I read that right or misunderstand?

John

2 1/2 tsp for a 2 hour rise and 1/2 tsp for a 4 or 5 hour rise. And of course your mileage may vary! Don't sweat it. What you might try first is allow a doubling of dough in the bowl just to see how fast it takes. Deflate, the place into the pan and stretch. Allow to rise for 30 minutes (or 45). Top and bake.

Here's a real tip: when the recipe says to allow the dough to double, THAT MEANS DOUBLE IN VOLUME and not double in radius or diameter. When the dough has doubled in volume, its final radius (or final diameter, either one) is 1.25 times the initial radius and not 2 times the initial radius.

And I would start by using 2 1/2 tsp SAF Red Instant yeast at first just to speed things along. Then as you get more experienced in the feel and observations of your dough, you can stretch the rise (pun intended) by using less yeast.

I might be misreading you, but you mentioned a pan. I have not had any problems (strangely) when making deep dish pizzas. The dough stretches great, tastes great (or at least how I want it), and is usually about exactly the right amount.

My problem has been with thinner crust (something akin to new york style). I do all the same things (with a different recipe) and it ends up never being able to stretch. I am starting to wonder if it is just too low a hydration and/or I over mix it to the point where its really dried out.

I would say that your hydration might be too low for NY's. Try increasing the amount of water by an additional 1 TBS per 3 C flour and that should allow for an easier stretch. And you may ultimately need to add more water to the dough to get your best stretch.

I might be misreading you, but you mentioned a pan. I have not had any problems (strangely) when making deep dish pizzas. The dough stretches great, tastes great (or at least how I want it), and is usually about exactly the right amount.

My problem has been with thinner crust (something akin to new york style). I do all the same things (with a different recipe) and it ends up never being able to stretch. I am starting to wonder if it is just too low a hydration and/or I over mix it to the point where its really dried out.

Cyclone:

Checkout a recipe for Pizza Margherita in a book entitled ARTISAN BAKING ACROSS AMERICA by Gleezer (sp?). I've made that recipe twice and the crust is quite thin but somewhat flakey. Her recipe worked for me and the recipe is quite easy to work. Good luck to your endeavors and forget the mixer.

I've had my Electrolux for about 2 years now and it's been fantastic. The smallest batch I've made is around 1200 grams, so I won't comment on a 400 gram batch, and I've made as much as 4000 gram batches. My hydration levels go from 60% to 70% +-. When I bought my Electrolux it came down to it and the Bosch. I chose the Electrolux based on the larger, stainless steel mixing bowl, additional whipping bowl, and the slower low speed. Pricewise they are very similar if you price out the optional stainless bowl for the Bosch. It's helped my pizza and bread making immensly.